Old Will Shakespeare was no fool. He knew his urban audiences wanted to escape in their imaginations from the congestion, the stink and the pressures of city life, and he made sure to incorporate plenty of pastoral scenes into his plays, invoking visions of wooded glades and exotic seacoasts. Nowadays, we have the option of viewing our classic plays swaddled in an environment of ACTUAL (albeit meticulously groomed) nature. What Elizabethan audiences would have given for such getaway opportunities as these!
The Chicago area offers opportunities for a variety of playgoing experiences, serving theatergoers looking for an excuse to embark on a weekend excursion as well as those preferring their spectacle short and air-conditioned. See where your pantheistic urgings take YOU:
Illinois Shakespeare Festival: King Lear, June 18-August 7. As You Like It, June 19-August 9. The Knight Of The Burning Pestle, July 10-August 8. (Running in repertory. Check performance dates.) Lear and Like It are standard repertoire, but Beaumont and Fletcher's bawdy big-cast satire on 17th-century Yuppies is rarely performed these days. Emerson Street at Towanda Avenue in Normal, Illinois. (309) 438-8110 or www.thefestival.org .
The American Players Theatre Festival: Pygmalion, June 7-September 27. Hamlet, June 13-October 4. The Two Gentlemen Of Verona, June 20-October 4. The Cherry Orchard, August 1-October 3. The Tempest, August 8-October 5. (Running in repertory. Check performance dates.) A river runs past it and it's only a short day-trip to shop at Land's End headquarters in Dodgeville—but the more adventurous might go searching for goblins in Mount Horeb. Hwy 23 & Route C in Spring Green, Wisconsin. (608) 588-2361 or www.playinthewoods.org .
City Of Portage Shakespeare Festival: As You Like It, June 20-29. The Comedy Of Errors, June 21-27. (Running in repertory. Check performance dates.) It's only an afternoon's drive round the lake to the Celery Flats amphitheater, located in this historical district just south of Kalamazoo. Get thee on a road trip! 7335 Garden Lane in Portage, Michigan. (269) 329-4522 or e-mail summer@portagemi.com .
First Folio Shakespeare Festival: The Comedy Of Errors, June 25-August 3. Renovations at the picturesque Mayslake site on the historical Peabody Estate mandates only one play this year, but Artistic Director Alison Vesely promises to return to their regular two-production schedule in 2004. 31st Street & Route 83 in Oak Brook. (630) 986-8067.
Shakespeare In The Park: A Midsummer Night's Dream, June 28-August 9. The Two Gentlemen Of Verona, June 29-August 9. (Running in repertory. Check performance dates.) A storage-barn fire destroyed their scenery and costumes, but Talisman Theatre artistic director Mark Hardiman says the show(s) WILL go on as scheduled. Huzzah! Wing Park Bandshell, 1000 Wing Street in Elgin. (847) 622-0300 or Web site www.talismantheatre.org .
Oak Park Festival Theatre: As You Like It, July 1-August 17. Under new management this year, the show closes in the gardens on August 10 to move indoors for its last week, also taking cover in inclement weather. Austin Gardens, Forest Avenue at Lake Street. Later in Gwendolyn Brooks School, 325 South Kenilworth Street in Oak Park. (708) 660-0636.
Door Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing, July 10-August 18. Romeo And Juliet, July 11-August 17. (Running in repertory. Check performance dates and special indoor performances.) Evening entertainment in the gardens of the historical Boynton Swedish Chapel for visitors to illyric Door County. Björklunden, Chapel Lane off Lakeshore Drive in Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin. (920) 839-1500 or www.doorshakespeare.com .
Chicago Shakespeare at Navy Pier: The Little Mermaid, June 14-August 17. Short Shakespeare! A Midsummer Night's Dream, July 16-August 16. Performed indoors, these 75-minute adaptations of Hans Christian Andersen's immortal fairy-tale and The Bard's familiar into-the-woods romantic romp, directed by the redoubtable Gary Griffin, are tailored for restless children, sightseers in need of a break, or the occasional rainy day. Navy Pier, 800 East Grand Avenue. (312) 595-5600 or www.chicagoshakes.com .
Shakespeare On The Green: The Two Gentlemen Of Verona, July 25-August 10. Produced by the Theatre School Of DePaul University on the grounds of its Barat campus (formerly Barat College). Grounds are open for picnickers and admission is free. 700 East Westleigh Road in Lake Forest. (847) 574-4758.
Wilhelm Tell Alpine Festival: Wilhelm Tell, August 30-31. In honor of its Swiss Heritage, the village of New Glarus has, since 1938, annually mounted a full-scale (complete with live goats and horses) production of Frederick Schiller's epic drama of Switzerland's independence. Picnickers and campers welcome. Tell Grounds off Route W in New Glarus, Wisconsin. 1-800-527-6838 or www.WilhelmTell.org .
Theatre-Hikes: Twelfth Night, August 24-September 7. This ambulatory adaptation takes audiences on a scene-by-scene stroll through forests indoor and outdoor, lending new meaning to the term 'dramatic action.' Morton Arboretum, 4100 Route 53 in Lisle, after a preview on August 24 at Gompers Park, 4222 West Foster Avenue. (630) 719-2465 or www.theatre-hikes.org .
A final word to first-timers from veterans of teatri alfresco: Equip yourself with 1) a hat, for protection from the setting sun. 2) a sweater, for protection from the evening chill (greenery makes for higher humidity, lowering the perceived temperature). 3) insect repellent, for protection from critters taking advantage of the bug-buffet presented by warm bodies sitting immobile for hours (Cutter water-base is the most comfortable to wear in sultry weather). 4) wet-wipe towelettes—you already know what for. 5) a receptacle in which to collect your garbage (cigarette butts, too) since this is NOT Shakespeare's London. Oh, yes—and don't try to catch the fireflies or crickets, no matter how your children or dates may clamor to take one home. Nature obeys no stage manager.
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